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1851 Vintage U.S. Military Springfield Model 1847 Cavalry Musketoon in .69 Caliber ** Seldom-Seen Springfield! ** Guns International #: 101837842 Seller's Inventory #: BP21- Category: Military Rifles - Antique - Springfield Rifles - Antique Seller's Information When emailing or calling sellers direct, please mention that you saw their listing on GunsInternational.com Seller: Antique & Modern Firearms, Inc. Company: Antique & Modern Firearms, Inc. Member Since: 4/27/15 State: Kentucky Zip: 40503 Country: United States Phone: (859) 276-1419 Fax: (859) 278-0838 Platinum Seller Number of Active Listings: 191 Total Number of Listings: 14860 Seller: FFL Dealer Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns. Payment Types Accepted: Visa,Master Card, Discover,Check Description: This is a very interesting and scarce U.S. Military Springfield Model 1847 Cavalry Musketoon in .69 caliber cap and ball.  The 1847 Cavalry Musketoon was manufactured by Springfield Armory from 1848 until 1859, with a total produced of somewhere around 6000 Musketoons.  The Cavalry Musketoon was virtually identical to the Model 1847 Artillery Musketoon except for the ramrod which was fastened with iron retaining swivels and the sling mounts were eliminated in favor of a 9.25" inch sling bar and ring on the left side.  These alterations were designed to make the weapon more useful from horseback, both allowing the weapon to be carried hanging low to either side via a cross-body sling and preventing loss of the ramrod when loading mounted on-the-move.  The 1847 Cavalry Musketoon was fitted primarily with a 26" inch smooth-bore barrel until very late in production when rifled barrels were added, and had an overall length of 41" inches.  The barrel bands, triggerguard, and buttplate were constructed of brass, and the stock was smooth American Walnut.  Sights consisted of only a front sight blade integral to the top barrel band, with only a VERY small number of guns mounted with rear musket sight.  The 1847 Cavalry Musketoon was issued to U.S. Troops starting in the 1948 and were put into service in the Mexican American War as well as fighting various Native American tribes across the country in the pre-Civil War period Indian Wars.  In the 1858 Battle of Pine Creek the Lt. Col. Steptoe-led U.S. forces of 159 troops armed with Model 1847 Musketoon variants were ambushed and beaten by an estimated force of 800 to 1000 Walla Walla Indians.  Along with being poorly equipped, the defeat was blamed to some degree on the Musketoons.  The chief complaints were the severe recoil, the lack of accuracy, the tendency for the weapon to unload itself when carried muzzle-down on a moving horse, the loss of the percussion cap due to the jostling of the horse, and the ramrod coming free and dangling from the weapon when mounted on a moving horse.  The only way to carry it and retain the cap was to gently let the hammer down resting on the cap, and this was not safe as you can imagine for a number of reasons.  By 1851, a couple of modifications were made to help remedy these problems where they could.  First ,the lock was given a third position where the hammer would rest just an 1/8" of an inch over the loaded cap, thereby preventing the cap from coming off of the nipple and making it much safer to carry capped and loaded. Second, a retaining spring was fitted inside the ramrod channel that applied pressure/friction to the ramrod preventing it from extending itself.  These changes helped the weapon perform much better, but yet still more changes were requested.  Late in production a small number of these weapons were fitted with a rifled barrel and a rear 2 position musket-type sight to improve accuracy, an 8 ounce lead weight was added to the butt to reduce recoil, and the disliked ramrod retaining swivel was eliminated in favor of a chained collar around the ramrod to keep it attached to the gun.  Despite all of these changes the Cavalry Musketoon was still generally disliked.  Nonetheless, the Springfield 1847 Cavalry Musketoon remained in service for manys years afterwards, with a large number of them seeing service in the American Civil War on both sides of the conflict.  With such a long service history during a period in which there was a large amount of conflict, surviving specimens are quite scarce today in any condition.  This particular example appears to be all-original but does show a lot of wear and tear from battle.  Made in the 4th year of production, it no doubt was involved in a lot of fighting.  This example has had two of the factory modifications completed on it, the addition of the 3rd tumbler "safety" position and the ramrod retaining spring was added inside the stock.  This Springfield has not been modified outside of the factory in any way, however it has been cleaned at some point and it is missing the original iron ramrod retaining swivel.  Whether this was accidently lost during use or purposely discarded we have no way to know.  As you can see from the pictures, all of the steel parts show an aged brown gray patina from prior rust being removed at some point.  All of the brass fittings are intact and solid but also have been cleaned.  All of the original factory markings are still intact and visible on this Springfield, although the "1851" date on top of the barrel is a little hard to see.  The lockplate markings are particularly good, as-is the "U.S." on top of the buttplate.  The original stock on this Springfield is still very solid but shows lots of handling and use marks, as well as the initials "G.A.G." carved into the left side of the buttstock.  Any of the original U.S. inspections cartouches on the stock are worn away and no longer visible.  The bore in this Cavalry Musketoon is actually quite good, free from any major damage or pitting, showing only some very light superficial pitting throughout the barrel.  The original nipple is still in-place and intact as well.  The action on this Springfield is in perfect working order.  The hammer has strong spring pressure and all three notches are intact and solid.  The hammer will not drop from pulling the trigger anywhere outside of the full-cock notch, as it was originally designed to do.  For all intents and purposes, this Model 1847 Cavalry Musketoon should still function just as well today as it did 170 years ago!  If you have been looking for one of these very hard-to-find Springfield Cavalry Musketoons here is your chance to get a good representative example at a great price.  Despite being a relatively poor weapon in combat, they certainly saw service in numerous conflicts and have a lot of historical value.      SOLD Antique: Yes Handgun Caliber: .69 Manufacturer: Springfield Model: Model 1847 Cavalry Musketoon Serial Number: None Barrel Length: 26" Inches Bore: Smoothbore Action: Cap & Ball Muzzle-Loader Butt Pad: Brass "U.S." Marked Buttplate Sights: Upper Barrel Band Integral Brass Blade Manufacture Date: 1851